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trucking industry, needed commodities could not be delivered to families and businesses throughout the country. Yet, the reach

communicated in the shareables that TMAF offers are vital. Barna, who also serves as an Executive Committee Member of TMAF, observed, ‘’People remember with a picture.

“Trucking plays an integral role in making even the holiday season special – from stocking shelves and putting food on the table, to taking part in Wreaths Across America and the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.” - Sheila O’Connor, Nebraska Trucking Association

of trucking goes much further. As Sheila O’Connor, Vice-President of the Nebraska Trucking Association relates, “Trucking plays an integral role in making even the holiday season special – from stocking shelves and putting food on the table, to taking part in Wreaths Across America and the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.” Just as the leaders in Dayton put forth creative effort to get the Dayton story out into their community, O’Connor urges companies to share what they have planned in terms of charitable acts and community events. As the holidays approach, the Nebraska Trucking Association wants to promote activities that “make us proud as an industry to say Trucking Moves the Holidays,” said O’Connor. The impact of this advertising and

messaging is staggering. Five messages drive the mission and objectives of TMAF: Trucking is safe, essential, vital to the economy, sustainable, and a great career. These messages that are

With the use of trailer wraps, 16 million advertising impressions were put out there on the highways, 98% surveyed remembered the trailer and company, and 97.5% had a favorable impression of the company!” Although there have been a number

of successes for TMAF since its inception 2 years ago, Burch noted the difficulty of

getting trucking companies of all sizes involved. “As important as rules and regulations are, when people are asked to do something positive for the industry, the same people with the good ideas stop talking,” he said. This simply fuels Burch’s energy to get his colleagues in the industry to talk and put action behind their talk. His focus over the next year as Chairman of ATA and Co- Chairman of TMAF is to tell the story. The story of people and the story of the industry. When TMAF conducted a survey they found that when people know anything at all about trucking, it’s usually positive. They know people in trucking, they have family members who were proud of being truckers, they’re grateful for what truckers have done. “There are so many stories,” said Burch. “My goal is to get more people involved in it. The foundation is laid now and that was toughest part.” The more people know, the more they will understand. Barna noted that polls have shown that the more somebody knows someone in the industry, the better perception they have of it. When asked about what the next

achievable accomplishments will be for TMAF, Burch and Barna were of the same mind. Educate, educate, educate. Educate the motoring public, and local, state, and federal officials. Burch said a shift occurs when an